Urban Legends: A Collection of International Tall Tales and Terrors
- ISBN-10
- 031333952X
- ISBN-13
- 9780313339523
- Series
- Urban Legends
- Category
- Social Science / Folklore & Mythology
- Pages
- 349
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2007
- Publisher
- Greenwood Press
- Authors
- Paul Smith, Gillian Bennett
Description
Don't get in that car without looking in the back seat! Everyone has heard the story about such-and-such, and while it sounds impossible, so-and-so swears that it must be true. Often gory, disgusting, shocking, and surprising, urban legends are central to everyday experience. From high schools and colleges to offices and organizations, urban legends are everywhere. This book collects more than 150 urban legends from around the world, such as The Mutilated Shopper, The Devil at the Disco, and The Thug in the Back Seat. The tales are grouped in thematic chapters, and each entry includes an introductory discussion of the legend and its presence in popular culture, the text of the legend, suggestions for further reading, and cross-references to similar tales. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography and a detailed index. Literature students will welcome the opportunity to read and write about these legends, social studies students will value them as a reflection of contemporary culture, and general readers will enjoy browsing them and learning more about their background and significance.
Don't pick up that hitchhiker! Don't get in that car without looking in the back seat! If you knew what they put in that, no way would you eat it! Urban legends are central to everyday experience. Everyone has heard the story about such-and-such, and while it sounds impossible, so-and-so swears that it must be true. These legends are everywhere, from high schools and colleges to offices and organizations. They appear in films, television series, and novels, and are now widely spread over the Internet. This book collects and annotates more than 150 urban legends from around the world and is a valuable resource for students, general readers, and anyone interested in contemporary culture.
Each entry provides introductory information about a legend, including its presence in films and other creative works; the text of the legend; a list of works for further reading; and references to similar tales. The legends are grouped in thematic chapters, such as animals, city life, and horror. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography and a detailed index. Students of literature will enjoy studying and analyzing these tales, while students in social studies courses will welcome them as a reflection of contemporary concerns.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2020-07-21
- 288 pages
- Ebook
- Harvard University Press
Similar books
-
Indian Myths & Legends from the North Pacific Coast of America: A Translation of Franz Boas' 1895 Edition of Indianische...
By Franz BoasThis volume of Native myths and legends is an indispensable document in the history of North American anthropology.
-
Handbook of Classical Mythology
By William F. HansenPresents classic stories of the Greeks and Romans, along with geographical and historical background information.
-
This Land is Our Land: A Guide to Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults
By Agnes Perkins, Alethea K. HelbigShe sets out to investigate, in particular, the founder of Gumbo Grove, a black man buried there, and unwittingly stirs up people in town who do not want to be reminded of slave days. Eventually, with the help of her parents, ...
-
Legend and Lore of the Americas Before 1492: An Encyclopedia of Visitors, Explorers, and Immigrants
By Ronald H. FritzeFurthermore , knowledge of storm - blown in the manner of the Unthe Unknown Pilot story was not confined known Pilot story . In Morison's opinion , to the Spanish world . Sir Thomas Herbert , the true source of the story lay among the ...
-
로제타 홀 일기 2
By 로제타 홀로제타 홀 (Rosetta S. Hall) ... Opened a Women's Hospital in Chemulpo Son Sherwood and Marian Bottomley married in Ohio Arrived in Korea, Sherwood and his wife 6 Sherwood hall, Establishment of the Haiju TB Sanatorium Sherwood hall, ...
-
Gender, Song, and Sensibility: Folktales and Folksongs in the Highlands of New Guinea
By Andrew Strathern, Pamela J. StewartThe authors challenge earlier analyses of Highlands societies of Papua New Guinea that have concentrated on gendered antagonism, taboos, and male domination.
-
クィディッチ今昔 (Quidditch Through the Ages)
By J.K. Rowling, ケニルワージー・ウィスプ魔法界の昔ながらのベストセラー。ホグワーツの図書室でも大人気の『クィディッチ今昔』。この本を読めば、歴史やルール(と、ルール違反)など、クィディッチという高貴なス ...
-
Familiar Mysteries: The Truth in Myth
By Shirley Park Lowry... Ernest Hemingway's “ The Snows of Kilimanjaro , ” Willa Cather's “ Paul's Case , ” F. Scott Fitzgerald's “ The Ice Palace , ” Ted Hughes's “ Snow . ” Novels include D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love and Margaret Drabble's The Ice Age .
-
香港都市傳說全攻略
By 施志明, 潘啟聰盧循更被劉裕屬下的孫處、沈田子所擊敗,於是退到合浦、交州之間,最後在交州敗沒。孫恩當年投海而死,盧循也一樣投海自盡,孫恩盧循之亂,亦告落幕。故此,有相關傳說或記述,如清代文人范端昂的《粵中見聞》記載: ......廣州城東南百里,有盧亭,亦曰盧餘。相傳.
-
哥贝克力山丘石器时代的宗教：从狩猎到驯化，从战争到文明
By[11]见金森和尼格梅尔:《海努韦莱:摩鹿加岛塞兰民间故事》,1939年,第172—329页。[12]关于“前人类流变”神话,见卡尔·W.卢克特:《纳瓦霍猎人传统》,1975年。同时参见本书第十四、十五两章。[13]克努德·拉斯穆森:《伊格鲁利克爱斯基摩人的智性 ...